Original Posted By: Rcaprd(at)aol.com
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Wheels, brakes and tiresAnyone out there tried anything with Azusa Engineering Wheels? Im trying to build a light-weight Piet, So I got their catalog and ordered tires, wheels and brakes. It seems that it would be possible to save about 30 pounds. So I ordered the nylon-filled wheels, (6), 5.00 x 6 tires(4-ply rated), and brake drums and the contracting brake bands. The external band brakes do not need backing plates and are easy to adapt to the vees.The tires are a little larger than those my friend has on his Sonex, which uses the Azusa aluminum wheels on 3/4 axles, and this rig is OK on the Sonex, which is a little bit heavier and a lot faster than the Piet. So I figured my rig would be ok for my Piet. My tires are marked not for highway use. This is ok by me, I hope that I wont be landing on many highways. But it also says 40 # maximum pressure. This bothers me, as the Sonexs use about 70#.And the lovely molded wheels say 20# maximum tire pressure. This bothers me! My friends here say that the gear should be designed to take the maximum load on one wheel. Any comments?Carl @ Compton Airport________________________________________________________________________________